The FA received a prestigious accolade at the Sport Industry Awards on Thursday evening, for its work in transforming perceptions of Women's and Girls' Football.

Nominated for the award of 'Best Promotion of a Sport by a Governing Body,' there was competition from the ATP, British Cycling, British Horseracing Authority, NFL and RFU but The FA were presented with the honour at the Battersea Evolution in Battersea Park. 

England Women's Head Coach Hope Powell OBE and Morag Taylor, The FA's Marketing Manager for Women's Football, collected the honour from England cricket ace Kevin Pietersen.

The award was granted due to what The FA has done in the past year with regards to the Girls United campaign, which was essential to improving perceptions of Women's and Girls' football with fans and increasing participation in the game.

Speaking about the award, The FA's Chairman Lord Triesman said: "This is a tremendous award for all of those involved at The FA.

"I know a huge amount of work has gone into this and I'd like to congratulate everybody on their efforts and this significant achievement."

The FA's Chief Executive Brian Barwick added: "This is an important area of the game that we have been committed to for a number of years now and promotion and development of Women's and Girls' football is something that has been vitally important.

"We are committed to the continued development of Women's and Girls' football and I am delighted for everyone involved that The FA won this award."

There are now well over 1.1 million females playing football on a regular basis in England, of which 150,000 are affiliated players in schools and clubs. It remains the number one team sport for females in this country.

Promotion and PR has been vital to changing what fans think of the game, and England's qualification for the World Cup in China last year was the perfect platform to show just what the game has to offer.

With high profile coverage in all national newspapers, live coverage of every England match on the BBC, and huge interest on TheFA.com dedicated China 2007 pillar - the game has gained more followers than ever.

However, it was not only the elite teams that formed part of the PR plan as the domestic game and the County FAs also played an important part of bringing more people into the game.

To find your local women or girls team click here, to see all the coverage from the World Cup click here, and to follow the domestic game click here.